The threat of the tornadoes moved east to the Mississippi and Deep South valley on Saturday, one day after a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that damaged the buildings, whipped the dust storms that caused fatal accidents and fueled more than 100 forest fires in several central states.
On Friday, several tornadoes were reported in the Missouri, just part of the extreme weather which was to affect a region of more than 100 million people. Winds reaching up to 130 km / h have been predicted from the Canadian border in Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in the colder northern areas and the risk of forest fire in the warmer and drier areas to the south.
Three people were killed on Friday in car accidents during a dust storm in the County of Amarillo in Texas Panhandle, according to the SGT. Cindy Barkley of the State Department of Public Security of the State. A stack involved around 38 cars.
“This is the worst I have ever seen,” said Barkley, describing visibility close to zero a nightmare. “We could not say that they were all together until the dust was set.”
Evacuations have been ordered in certain Oklahoma communities, as more than 130 fires have been reported throughout the state. The state patrol said that the winds were so strong that they overturned several tractors.
“It’s terrible here,” said Charles Daniel, a truck driver carrying a trailer 14.6 meters along the Interstate 40 in the west of Oklahoma. “There is a lot of sand and dirt in the air. I don’t push it on 55 MPH. I’m afraid that it is blowing if I do it.”
The forecasters said that the serious threat of storm would continue on weekends with a strong chance of tornadoes and winds damaging the Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday. On Sunday, heavy rains could bring sudden floods in certain parts of the east coast.
Experts say that it is not unusual to see such extreme times in March.
“What is unique about it is its large size and intensity,” said Bill Bunting of the Storm prediction center of the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla.
Tornadoes, large hail
The weather service said that at least five tornadoes had been reported in Missouri on Friday, including one in the Saint-Louis region. Several buildings were damaged in the storm, including a shopping center in Rolla, Missouri, where a tornado was reported on Friday afternoon.
The Storm Prediction Center said that rapid storms could cause twisters and hail as important as baseball balls, but the greatest threat would come from nearby linear winds or exceeding the force of hurricanes, with gusts of 160 km / h possible.
The “potentially violent” tornadoes were expected on Saturday in some parts of the central coast of the Gulf and south of the Tennessee valley, according to the National Weather Service.
The Storm Prediction Center said that some parts of the Mississippi, including Jackson and Hattiesburg, and the Alabama regions, including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, would be at high risk. Grave storms and tornadoes were also possible in eastern Louisiana, Western Georgia, the center of Tennessee and the Western Florida Panhandle.
Forest fires in dry and gust
Forest fires in the southern plains threatened to spread quickly in the middle of hot and dry time and strong winds, and the evacuations were ordered on Friday for certain communities in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
A fire in the county of Roberts, Texas, northeast of Amarillo, quickly exploded by less than two square kilometers at around 85 square kilometers, said Texas A&M University Forest Service on X. Crews stopped its advance by Friday evening.
About 90 kilometers to the south, another fire reached approximately 10 square kilometers before stopping its advance in the afternoon.
The OKLAHOMA Ministry of Emergency Management has activated its emergency operations center due to several rapid development fires that have caused evacuations from the city of Leedey in the western part of the State and in a rural area east of Norman.
The firefighters had been attended in certain regions, which helps the authorities to jump early on the flames, said Andy James, head of the fire management of Oklahoma forest services. Fire control planes have also been deployed in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, but have generally not been able to fly due to the low visibility of smoke and dust, he added.
Friday evening, the National Weather Service said that an “extremely dangerous fire complex” was located northeast of Oklahoma City, near Stillwater, and urged some people in the city of around 50,000 to evacuate. Officials have published compulsory evacuation orders via social media which included houses, hotels and a Walmart.
Officials have urged people in certain regions of Camden County from the center of Missouri to evacuate due to forest fires, and the State Highway Patrol warned via social media that they approached houses and businesses.
About 190 kilometers of highway 70 in the west of Kansas were temporarily closed due to blowing dust and limited visibility.
According to the Powerate.us website, has also eliminated power to more than 216,000 houses and businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.
Blizzard warnings in the Northern Plains
The National Weather Service American has issued Blizzard warnings for some parts of western Minnesota and Dakota from the southern Far Oriental from Saturday. Snow accumulations from 7.6 to 15.2 centimeters were expected, with up to 30 centimeters possible.
Winds blowing at 97 km / h should cause money laundering conditions.
